


past; summer; boys of summer.

by namelikeafairytale, organizedcure (namelikeafairytale)



Series: #pornywrimo [in which joe is confused.] [4]
Category: Inception (2010) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, M/M, Masturbation, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-23
Updated: 2011-01-23
Packaged: 2017-10-17 22:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/181944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namelikeafairytale/pseuds/namelikeafairytale, https://archiveofourown.org/users/namelikeafairytale/pseuds/organizedcure





	past; summer; boys of summer.

It's almost noon when Joe wakes up to his mom beating down the door. His phone is plastered to his face.

"Hon' wake up, you've got that thing today. At the bookstore!"

It takes Joe a good ten minutes to realize that a) it's 11:34, b) he called tom at almost 3-am last night, and c) there is an interview happening with him and the owner of Reynold's Reads at four.

He knows why he called Tom. He only did it because he was half-asleep and he was curious, but not brave enough to inquire at full-alertness.

There's a new layer to their friendship now, and Joe isn't really sure he wants to uncover it. He wants to leave it, whatever it is, in a box, on some unknown street and be rid of it. But it'll resurface just like the Zahir. Only that was a fucking coin, but it's the same idea, dig? He wants to stop thinking about it, but it's an idea implanted in his soul now, more than an idea. It's the living, breathing existence of his best friend and the years they've spent developing a sense of each other. And Joe isn't ready to rediscover Tom right now. Not in that sense. (But he isn't completely sure he doesn't want to.)

He gets up, mumbles a good morning to his mom, who scoffs back at him, and then he steps into the shower.

The water hits his scalp, and his shoulder reacts to the rivulets of water that follow the line of the back by arching up in pleasure. He rolls his neck and the steady stream pelts his face. He didn't mean for the pressure of the water on his lips to jolt him back to last week. But there he is.

\--

He sighs. Tom's smiling at him. But this isn't his normal, geeked-out smile. It's sad and there's something else behind it that Joe can't recognize yet.

Tom smiles a little wider, and Joe sees his semi-crooked teeth and says, "Damn Brits."

And Tom opens his mouth even wider in a laugh. And Joe let him, at his expense, because that's what friends do.

"You're not even gonna miss me, are you? Probably thinking about some hot English babe you'll be macking with, heartless bastard."

And Joe feels his words almost crumble on that last syllable. He's all about Tom right now. And Tom's leaving for the summer, and he feels small and inept. He can't compare with a fucking glorious city. Or pretty girls that speak like Tom. He can't offer Tom anything that Tom wouldn't find at any other household with a teenager inside. He might be the only one at their school that isn't afraid of Tom, but that's because Tom's a misanthrope and hates everyone, basically. Well, everyone except for Joe, 'cause they're best friends. The weight of all the premature miss for Tom sits on his shoulders, makes him feel tiny again, and Joe blinks and sees that Tom is examining his face closely.

He doesn't put on a look of confusion or offense, but instead opens his mouth to ask what Tom's thinking.

But Joe doesn't get any words out, because Tom's mouth is hard and slick on his. And Tom's eyes are closed and Joe tries to focus on his eyelid, but he realizes what's actually happening, and he stops. Stops trying to understand and just feels.

\--

Joe turns the faucet and listens to the water run out.


End file.
